In the Mine
by queenpearl
Summary: A missing scene in Planes 2 when Blade and Dusty are in the mine. Rated T to be safe.


Once the scorch of the flames had vanished, the first thing that struck Dusty was the darkness. His running lights came on automatically, providing some light in the small space. He was pressed up against a wall and felt a larger weight pressing against him. The dim light his running lights provided was enough for him to see Blade's larger form standing over him, blocking him in completely.

"Blade?" He croaked. "It's over now, you can stop crushing me." "Sorry Champ." Blade replied, his voice sounding strained. He backed off a bit, allowing Dusty a bit of wiggle room. Turning his lights on the red helicopter, Dusty could see how tense Blade was. His eyes were shut tight and his teeth were slightly bared. "Are you hurt?" Dusty asked. "I've been worse." Blade lied. "It's nothing, I'm fine." He looked at Dusty. "A busted gearbox?" He asked. Sighing, Dusty nodded. "Why didn't you say anything?" Blade asked. "I didn't quite believe it. I didn't want to believe it. The thought of never racing again just..." Dusty broke off. Blade's harsh blue gaze softened a degree. "You love racing don't you?" He asked. Dusty nodded. "It's what I live for." He replied. "You still should've told me regardless." Blade growled. With a hint of amusement in his eyes he added "Might've saved you a lot of yelling on my end." Dusty couldn't help but smile. "The Smokejumpers tell me that's something to be avoided at all costs." He said. "What, that I might murder you?" Blade asked. "Something like that. They say they'd rather endure Alaska's cold winter than face your wrath. It might make them spontaneously combust." Dusty said. "Well, there have been those times." Blade said. "Drip and Avalanche have tempted me. But at the end of the day we're still a team. And though Maru's tried unsuccessfully to put those two jokers on the wall, he secretly enjoys their pranks, deep down." Dusty laughed. "Tell me!" He begged. Blade shook his head. "I'm not giving you any ideas Champ. You'll have to ask them yourself." He said. "If I ever can ask them." Dusty muttered. Blade turned stern. "Now don't think like that." He chided. "We will get out of here." "Yeah, if we don't suffocate first." Dusty snorted. Blade nudged him, forcing the smaller plane to look him in the eye. "We will get out of here." He growled. Dusty sighed and nodded. No sense in arguing. Blade backed off, wincing. "You are hurt." Dusty said. Blade raised his head to look at him, his eyes flashing in the dim light. "I'm fine Champ." He replied. Dusty shook his head, unconvinced. Something about Blade's attitude put him off. The red helicopter was hiding something. Moving as carefully as he could, Dusty ducked under Blade's tail rotors and circled around to his other side. The orange plane's wingtip brushed the rock wall. Now facing Blade's left side, he shone all his lights on the red helicopter's flank. What he saw, made him suck in a breath.

The paint along Blade's side had been scorched and blistered off and he sported several large dents where falling rocks and debris had hit him. "Blade..." Dusty whispered. "I'm fine Champ." Blade insisted, fixing him with a hard stare. Instead of backing down, Dusty glared right back. "You don't know that, now hold still and let me look." He growled. Blade snorted but did as he was told though the things he muttered under his breath weren't exactly complimentary. Dusty growled and kept working. He stared hard at Blade's wound. "Blade, do you have any water left?" He asked. "A bit, why?" He asked. "That wound needs cleaning." Dusty replied. Blade growled. "Don't be difficult." Dusty snapped. Reluctantly, Blade gave him the water. Being as gentle as he could, Dusty began pouring the water into the open wound, rubbing it to get as much in as he could. Blade stiffened, his teeth grinding together. "I'm sorry, I know it hurts." Dusty said. "It's alright Champ." Blade sighed. Once Dusty had finished, the red helicopter leaned against the rock wall Dusty was previously on, using it for support. He kept his eyes on Dusty. "How much longer?" Dusty asked. "Not too long." Blade replied tiredly. Dusty settled beside him, closing his eyes. He felt very tired and wanted to sleep. But a sharp nudge in his side stopped him. "Hey, don't sleep and keep your head up. That's where the oxygen will be." Blade growled. Dusty sighed but did as he was told for once. After all, Blade did know more than he did. "Nice to see you're listening to me for once." The helicopter chuckled. Dusty shrugged. "It beats trying to argue." He replied. Blade fell silent and Dusty wondered if he'd ignored his own advice and fallen asleep but every once in a while, Dusty could see his eyes flashing in the darkness. At last he straightened up. "Alright, we should be good." He said. Dusty moved aside as Blade gathered himself, then charged the entrance. A small crack showed, revealing blue-white light. Blade repeated the process twice and was rewarded as the wall of debris gave way. The blast of cool, fresh air felt wonderful after sitting in that stuffy mine for so long. All the ash that was stirred up made Dusty cough a bit and he noticed his companion did the same. In the light, Dusty could see the full extend of Blade's injury. He moved forward but before he could do anything Blade said "The meadow should be clear. We can take off from there." Reluctantly, Dusty followed without a word.

Reaching the meadow, Blade ordered Dusty to set a course for the base and took a step back as Dusty fired up his engine and used the clear stretch of ground to get airborne. As soon as he'd cleared the tree line, Blade followed. A few seconds later, Dusty heard a grinding sound and he looked behind him to see Blade, his main rotor spinning uselessly as he went into a fatal spin towards the ground. Just before impact, he closed his eyes and landed, skidding on his side against a fallen tree. "BLADE!" Dusty cried and turned around. "Patch, this is Crophopper 7 do you read?" He asked frantically over the radio. "I read you Crophopper." Patch replied. "Blade is down, I repeat Blade is down." Dusty cried. "I'll send Windlifter to intercept. State your position." Patch said. Dusty did and finding the clear stretch of ground he'd taken off from, he landed, quickly rolling over to where Blade was. The red helicopter lay on his side, his injured flank exposed. His eyes were closed and his breathing was erratic. Dusty nudged him. "Blade, Blade wake up." He begged. Blade coughed weakly. "Champ, I thought I told you to head back to base." He rasped. "I don't leave my friends behind." Dusty replied. Blade opened on eye. "When will you learn to listen to me." He asked. Dusty ignored the question and replied "Windlifter's on his way. You're gonna be alright, Maru will patch you up, just hold on." Blade didn't answer in words. He merely sighed and closed his eyes. Dusty nudged him firmly. "Come on, stay awake. Stay with me." He begged. "My tail, Champ. I can't feel my tail." Blade said. "It's okay, help's on the way." Dusty assured him. "My tail's gone isn't it?" Blade asked, a few tears escaping his eyes. Dusty looked. "No it isn't, your tail's fine. Rotors are bit damaged though." He replied. Blade wheezed in reply, his breathing growing shallower. "Blade come on, don't quit now!" Dusty begged. Blade's eyes slipped close once more. Dusty nudged him desperately several times, receiving no response. "Blade, come on." He begged. "Tell the team, I'm sorry." The red helicopter whispered. His flanks barely moved. "Come on Windlifter, where are you?" Dusty growled. A breeze picked up and Dusty looked to see Windlifter's shadow falling over him. Quickly, he attached the harness to Blade as best he could and Windlifter carefully lifted the motionless helicopter into the air. Dusty flew alongside, glancing over at Blade every few minutes to see if he might wake up but his hopes were in vain. Dusty wasn't even sure if Blade was still alive.

Landing at the base, Maru was on the scene at once and started shouting out orders. Dusty whimpered in worry from beside Cabby as Blade was towed past him into the hanger. For the next several hours, Dusty watched, the sparks of Maru's repairs reflecting in his eyes. _"Oh please be alright."_ He thought. A small gentle breeze picked up, bringing with it the sound of a voice that whispered in his ear "Blade will be fine." Surprised, he looked around. "Don't be frightened." The voice said. "Just tell Blade I'm always here for him. He's every bit the tough nut that he was on the set." Dusty looked up. "Nick?" He questioned. A shape formed itself in front of him and Dusty wasn't sure if he was dreaming or not. The white helicopter gave a small bow. "Nick Loopin' Lopez at your service." He said. "You're dead." Dusty noticed. Nick nodded. "An unfortunate accident. One that Blade has never gotten over." He said, glancing fondly at his friend. "Can-can anyone else see you?" Dusty asked. Nick shook his head. "Not if I don't want them to." He replied. "Look Dusty, Blade will be fine. And he wouldn't want any member of his team worrying over his safety when there's a bigger problem to worry about." Nick said. Dusty sighed. "You really think he'll be okay?" He asked. "He better be." Nick growled. "Or I'll chase his ass around for all eternity." Dusty smiled. Nick nuzzled him. "What Blade needs is a friend. Someone to be close to. He hasn't had that since I died." He said. "And you want me to be that friend?" Dusty asked. "He thinks a lot of you. More than he lets on." Nick chuckled. "I'll try my best." Dusty replied. "That's all I ask." Nick replied, starting up his rotors. "And one more thing," He said. "Next time you have a problem, don't hesitate to tell someone. It really will save you a lot of grief." Nick said. Dusty laughed. "Alright." He said. Nick lifted off the ground and vanished. Dusty turned back to Blade, who was still unconscious but the worry he felt for his friend wasn't nearly as strong as it was before. Blade was tough, he'd make it through this.


End file.
